More beer: 12 packs at LCBOs should boost craft sales

Ontario's rules governing the sale of alcohol — some of which haven't changed since Prohibition ended in the U.S. — are changing, and Sudbury is taking part in a pilot project to test out how well the laws will work.

Consumers can now buy 12 packs of beer at the LCBO location on Marcus Drive (across from SilverCity), one of 10 sites in Ontario taking part in the project, along with Burlington, Bowmanville, Tecumseh, Toronto, Uxbridge, Ottawa, Brampton and Woodbridge.

Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault and LCBO Acting District Manager John Creighton made the announcement Friday morning at the liquor store.

Thibeault said the initiative is the first of a series of changes to the province's liquor laws, along with allowing beer sales in grocery stores and dedicating space in the LCBO for craft brewers such as Sudbury's Stack Brewing.

The measures are being rolled out slowly so the province can gauge what works and whether any problems arise before rolling out the changes provincewide.

"They want to make sure there's not going to be any extra cost to brewers, especially in their distribution costs, and wanting to make sure that when it comes to social responsibility that we're doing that piece, as well,” he said. “So rather than just jumping out and putting it everywhere and then having to reel back, a pilot project like the one we're doing here in Sudbury will allow us to make sure we get everything correct.”

The aim is to give consumers more choices, he said, as well as helping craft brewers in the province access a broader customer base.

Creighton said the changes mean customers now have more choice than ever when it comes to beer.

"We're looking forward to launching an Ontario Craft Beer Destination Section in many of our LCBO stores come this fall,” he said. “Selling 12 packs at the LCBO supports the government's goal of modernizing the sale of alcohol and improving consumer convenience and marketplace competition."

The liquor store sold more than $1 billion in imported and domestic beer in 2014, Creighton said, while overall sales topped $5.2 billion. Of that amount, the LCBO paid a $1.8 billion dividend to the province.

“The LCBO's mandate is to carry out selling beverage alcohol in Ontario in a socially responsible manner," he said, adding that LCBO staff asked 13.5 million people for ID — or questioned them about being intoxicated — in 2014.

"Of that number, 439,000 individuals were refused service — of which, 88 per cent was age-related," Creighton said.

Thibeault said the changes, when fully implemented, should be a boost for the province's craft brewers.

“By the fall, they're going to have 20 per cent shelf space at The Beer Store,” he said. "I know we're hearing from the folks at the LCBO that the craft brewers — the local stuff, the stuff that's brewed across Ontario — that's what they're selling more and more of.

"And so that's good for us in terms of creating jobs and seeing more benefits to those that are small business owners in our communities."